I Love my pet

All Natural Bully Sticks - The Best Chews on Earth!

5/12/2018

All natural bully sticks are honestly the best dog chew product out there. I discovered them about a year ago and I highly recommend them! My oldest, Sophia (7 year old mix) never chewed much. She likes playing with her toys, but was never much of a chewer past the puppy stage. Therefore, I never really looked around and did my research on all the chew products out there. That all changed when I brought my Australian Shepherd puppy home in July of 2017.

Beau is an aggressive chewer. He is closing in on his first birthday and he's still very much a chewer. Thankfully, this was my second round of dealing with the puppy stage, so I expected a lot of chewing and prepared for it. I did my homework and found these awesome chews called bully sticks. They are all-natural, which is a big thing for me because I only feed my babies all-natural foods and treats due to my oldest having allergies.... plus they really are all around better for your pooch. Supplemented with other chew toy options, bully sticks saved my house and things from being destroyed by Beau's chewing.

I brought Beau home when he was about 7 or 8 weeks old. I had prepared ahead of time by buying him his own bowls (water and food), his own bed (though he never uses it as he sleeps with me), and a few new toys he could call his own. Among those toys were the bully sticks. Honestly, we managed to get through beau's puppy stage without anything of value of any kind being chewed on. No shoes, no cords, no furniture, nothing. The best possible thing you can do for your puppy is to make sure they have plenty of toys and chews to occupy their attention and keep it off of your stuff. ;)

I would highly recommend all-natural bully sticks for your dog's enjoyment, no matter the age or size. Bully sticks come in all sizes and shapes, so you can get them tailored to your dog's needs. Make sure you get the all-natural though, that way you know the ingredients are safe! Bully sticks are a healthy, safe alternative to nylabones and rawhide chews, which can be incredible dangerous to your pooch.

A few of my favorite Bully Stick (all-natural) brands:
- Best Bully Sticks
- The Pet Doctor's All Natural Bully Sticks
-Red Barn Bully sticks
- Prairie Dog Bully Sticks

The brands listed above are the ones I give my babies, and they LOVE them, but there are many other different brands, so feel free to do some searching!

Keeping our dogs happy and healthy,
Liz

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Sophia Loren: The Dog That Rescued Me

1/17/2018

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The name Sophia means “wisdom” in Greek and is also the name of one of the greatest actresses to ever grace the silver screen. At the time I gave that name to her, I had no idea how fitting it would be. Her story starts in Kentucky, where she was born, and has presently found her in New York. She was born in a shelter in Kentucky to a mother who was brought to the shelter as a cruelty case. According to her papers, the mother had been left chained outside with no food or water. She was severely underweight, was raw around the neck from the chain, and to top it all off, she was pregnant with 5 babies. The beautiful creature that holds my heart was born on December 6, 2010, 3 states away. That same day, I was home in Upstate New York just trying to figure out how to navigate real life, having graduated from high school 6 months prior. I had no idea that my life would drastically change in just a little over 2 months.

Sometimes you have no idea that you’re drowning until someone throws you a life preserver. She was my life preserver.

Prior to her coming into my life, I was unemotional, distant, and closed off. I was scared to death of allowing anyone or anything near my heart because I didn’t want to feel the pain. I had been stung several times before by some really bad relationships in high school mixed with a severe blow to my heart as a result of the passing of my beloved grandmother, coupled with my naturally quiet, introverted nature, it resulted in the closing off of my heart and my distancing myself from anyone who could possibly get through the wall I had built around myself. I wasn’t an affectionate person, not because I didn’t want to be, but because I was scared stiff of expressing any kind of affection due to the fear of rejection or experiencing pain later on, after I had already gotten attached. I told myself a million times that I didn’t need anyone, that I was perfectly fine on my own. I didn’t think there was a problem with the way I was conducting my “heart life”, so as the saying goes, why fix something that ain’t broke? It’s truly amazing how we can go on living and doing and not realize that something is broken until someone walks up and hands us a wrench and some superglue.

Somewhere between December 6, 2010 and February 14, 2011, she was shipped from the Kentucky shelter where she was born to a shelter here in New York. I’m not sure why she was shipped here, maybe overcrowding? I believe it was by the hand of Providence. God knew I needed someone to break through that wall of mine and he knew that this sweet, furry creature was the only one that could. I’m always amazed at how He works and makes things happen. You see, I was never really a dog person (something anyone who has only known me since having Sophia wouldn’t believe). I liked dogs, don’t get me wrong,

I was just never someone who wanted a dog for my own. I grew up with family dogs, and my aunts, uncles, and grandparents all had dogs, but for me, I never had the desire to have one of my own. My twin sister on the other hand loved dogs, and had always wanted one. Her first dog was a Golden Retriever named Lady, she was a stray that was found in a field. Fast-forward to 2011, my sister who had lost her latest dog a few years prior was looking to get another dog. Yes, that’s right, Sophia was originally supposed to be my sister’s. She had found a puppy that she was interested in and was going to drive the two hours to take a look at her, and she asked if I would go with her. So on Valentine’s Day 2011 we made the two hour trip in a snow storm to go see this puppy.

Looking back, I find it incredibly fitting that we got her on Valentine’s Day, because she ended up stealing my heart. (Valentine’s just happened to be a day that both parties had off). A little back story on how we found her: My sister had a mutual friend with a woman who worked at the shelter where Sophia was, that shelter was planning on getting rid of Sophia for some reason or other, so the woman took her home, planning on finding the puppy a home herself.

We when got to the woman’s apartment, we found Sophia hiding under the kitchen table with a kitten. She was scared to death of everything and they ended up dragging her out from under the table so we could see her (which immediately caused me to feel bad for her). My sister informed me in a hushed tone that she wasn’t so sure she wanted the puppy after all, with her being so skittish and all. Ashley (my sister) was use to happy, playful, outgoing puppies and dogs. She wasn’t interested in a “special case”. As soon as I saw that cute little face, I felt compelled to take her home, so I talked my sister into getting her.

She rode the two hour trip home in my arms (Ashley was driving), and was absolutely perfect. She was the perfect passenger and slept most of the way home with her head hidden in my coat. We got her all settled in at home and quickly learned several things: 1) She was scared of EVERYTHING. 2) She felt safest in small, covered places like behind the couch or in her crate. And 3) She was scared of her own water dish. I worked with her a bit and found out that she was scared of the water dish because it was metal and the sound of the metal on her collar hitting the dish whenever she drank scared her. It was a problem easily solved, we just got her a plastic water dish, one that she still uses today (she’s a creature of habit).

We also started picking out a name for her. Several names were thrown around including Juliet in honor of Valentine’s Day, but none of them seemed to fit. My mother threw out the name Sophie, and it was the one that seemed closest to fitting her…… But then I came up with Sophia, as in Sophia Loren (the name of the Old Hollywood legendary Italian actress). Sophia seemed to fit her and she seemed to respond to that one the best as well. So Sophia it was.

Now, again, the puppy was still technically Ashley’s dog at this point. Two days after bringing Sophia home, my sister left for two weeks on a house-sitting job, which left me to take care of Sophia. My sister was gone the majority of the time that year, rarely spending anytime at home, and when she was home she rarely spent time with her new puppy.

That left me to take care of her and train her. Through learning all of Sophia’s quirks and preferences, and training her, she soon bonded to me and not my sister. I potty trained her, I taught her how to approach anything new to her in a way that made her feel safe but also helped her acclimate herself with it, I taught her not to be afraid of every single thing and that she could trust that this environment was a safe one. I also taught her how to sit, stay, and come, and how to ring the bells on the door that I had placed there to let us know when she wanted to go out, because she had yet to learn to tell us in any other way.

We were together literally 24/7 that first year (and have been pretty much inseparable ever since). I learned about her needs and how to read her body language, she learned how to read mine, but more importantly, she learned how to get to me in a way that no one else could. Looking back on that first year, I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but somewhere along the way, Sophia managed to break right through that wall around my heart without me even knowing it. I didn’t realize what had happened until it was too late. I was already totally and completely attached to that beautiful little furry creature. It was clear whose dog Sophia really was, and with that, my sister signed ownership over to me…… and to think, just a year ago I didn’t think I wanted a dog! ;)

It has been just under 6 years now and I cannot imagine life without my furry baby. I taught her to be braver and gave her security and love, and she taught me about unconditional love and patience. She taught me that showing affection is healthy and feels really good, and it’s also a necessity. She is treated like the princess she is, totally spoiled rotten (as it should be). She quickly took charge of the house hold and even made friends with my mother’s toy poodle, Jackson, who was less than enthused when she first arrived. She has wormed her way into the hearts of every single member of my family. None of us could possibly imagine life without her. She not only broke through my walls, she also demolished them.

There’s an old saying “It is better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all”. I never really believed this saying and, quite frankly, didn’t see the logic in it. Why risk the pain? Since Sophia came along, I can understand that saying. I know that when the day comes when God decides to take her, it will hurt…. And by hurt I mean I’ll be a complete basket case. It’s going to hurt like no other hurt on earth…… but I’ve come to realize that it will be worth the pain. I’m so blessed to have these years with my Sophia, to have experienced the pure love of this dog. It’ll be hard to let her go, but it would have been much worse had I never experienced her at all. I hope everyone gets the chance at least once in their life to experience the love of a dog, it’s the best kind of love.

I have a lot of people comment on my ridiculous, crazy love for this dog. They can’t understand how I can love this dog like my own flesh and blood child. The thing is I can’t begin to explain it to someone who has never experienced it for themselves. She is my best friend, my constant companion, my confidant, my sidekick. She’s always up for anything, as long as she gets to be with me. She goes hiking and walking through the mountains and woods with me, she loves rides in the car, she picnics with me, sleds with my kid sister, plays in the snow with us, and adores going on our annual daddy-daughter camping trip.

I couldn’t ask for a more perfect dog. She’s a diva, no doubt about it, she’s incredibly smart (maybe a little too smart haha), and it’s usually her way or the highway, but then again, her way is always more fun. ;) Yes, Sophia is a very fitting name for this photogenic, intelligent, furry diva. I thank God every day for sending her to me. He knew we needed each other. <3

***** Originally published on Writing Just in Case *****

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Stray Hearts Animal Shelter Event

3/11/2016

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Recently the Christian Indie Authors, Cover Extravaganza Facebook group held a fundraiser for The Kentucky Animal Shelter in Eastern Kentucky. The girls that work there do great work and all work for free and they love animals and have found many homes for desperate strays.

“[The shelter] needed help with keeping the animals warm and the water from freezing. They had dogs that were outside and didn't have adequate shelter.

During the last storm their kennels and the tops on them were destroyed from the snow. They survive on donations from the community and we are in need of help trying to replace them.”

Samantha Fury suggested that we help out this shelter and cover artists jumped in with new designs especially for the promotion. We raised over $125 and we hope it helps with the shelter needs.

We were also able to reward authors with free covers as a prize for sharing and raising awareness of the shelter needs and our promotion.

We'd like to thank all of the Artist that helped out and the authors too, it was a great event and we were very happy to help out.

In March we are planning another special event and we hope you’ll stay with us as we plan special discounts and giveaways and help our designers earn some cash for their efforts too.

If you're an author and need a cover feel free to drop by. We have several artist and they have many genres for you to pick from.
Click here to see some of the great covers.

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My Dearest Rosie-Kate

3/7/2016

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My Dearest Rosie-Kate

The crack of the twigs in the grasses

Must sound like stock whips in her ears

Because each time one breaks

She looks back and runs faster than before

Calling out to me to keep up with her

At present it’s not possible my dear

I do my best to run wither

Yet she runs faster than I without any fear

No tall grass can stop her

Seems like she has wings on her feet

Straight to that tree she runs to

And at its base she does sit

Many things she has taught me

Not to be afraid of what I cannot see

Do not let the difficult conditions control me

Like a bird freed from a cage she goes out the door

She spreads her wings to fly

Smells all around and listen to the sounds

No she’s not disturbed by them at all

She knows there’s more to life than being indoors

Freedom has been found

A world that’s all new is waiting for her out there

Dancing all around just like a butterfly

She was so hard to hang onto in days gone by

Now she sits and waits for her collar and lead

Knowing we are going, dancing, walking, running

Till we find that place where the weeds do grow

Looking up into my eyes I ask are you ready?

Go!!

Away like the wind she does go

No man will ever catch this one, oh no

She’s a special kind of lady yet ever so very small

Has ways about her to teach one and all

Come run with me, come by my side

I’ll take you to places you’ve never tried

I do the very best I can,

Four times up and four times down

Aching legs hat don’t want to go

Pain so deep that only God knows

Yet as I do s she calls me to run

Daily it’s getting easier, a good job done

She’s found freedom she never knew

Now she’s showing me come and enjoy it too

Sit a while when it gets too much

Pant to cool down and catch your breath

And that little nose well it knows the way back

She follows the scent and is finally home

Satisfied she doesn’t try to run or to flee

She’s more than happy to be with me

A drink of water from the watering dish

A cuppa for me to drink, that’s my wish,

And wait and wonder and sit and think

Of all she’s taught me to understand

But best of all the fear “let it go”

It’s like her newest command to me

Come run with me, fly like a bird

Enjoy the freedom as the day unfold

The door of the cage is open I’m told

After all the enjoyment tits time to rest

Breathe deep and slow let all that tension go

Sit and relax, find time to enjoy a rest

God gave me her and at times she knows best

Comes naturally to her you see

If I just watch a while and learn

I can learn to understand the things she’s shown to me

Yet one thing I know,

At present she’s all mine

My Rosie Kate a little gift that God gave

To love and be loved,

To bless and be blessed

Today’s she here with me,

Side by side

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Grief

3/3/2016

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After the loss of one’s treasured pet, there is still a time of grief that is allowed to take place

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened. ” - Anatole France

Grief

While walking through this valley and the tears that still fall

I can’t find the words to express thank you for the call

Nor can I comprehend Gods ways, so unknown to us as man.

I will keep in mind your words of kindness as I walk this valley deep

Knowing that my Crystal today is sound asleep to us down here

Yet I’m sure she’s dancing for her Creator today as she always did

Playfully running through the fallen gum leaves upon Heavens’ distant shore

Merrily, happily living her dearest part of life once more

A word of kindness

An unexpected call

A card in a the mail box

Ease the grief of the loss

Of one special little treasure

Who lived within my house

Loved daily walks and danced

Fallen gum leaves to play in

Chasing the winds that blew

Prancing and dancing

Sleeping too

That was her life

My crystal bush

Job 1:21 The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

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Welcome!!

1/26/2016

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Welcome to I love my pet!

This is our first post here at I love my pet and I'd just like to say hello. I love animals and I've wanted to have a blog for a while about pets so here it is. I hope to cover many topics from clothes and pet care to fun stories about our little fur babies. Please bookmark us and check back weekly to see the next story, who knows you might learn something.

Pet Care, Clothes, Reviews and more!!

I hope to over time get some of our local vets to answer some of those every day questions that we have about our fur babies. How much pepto can you give a pet, what is good for an aging dogs skin. Should dogs really take vitamins. These are questions I'm always asking. Also I hope to review some of the clothes and items that I've bought my pets. .

Authors and their pets

Since this blog will be hosted on the CIAN author site we will have to talk to some of our best known Indie authors and learn about their little furry friends. We hope that you will come back often and tell your friends about our blog.

Also we hope to share pets now and then that are up for adoption or offer some great places that you can donate money too if you like to help out pets in need. We will share prayer request at times for our pets and laugh, cry, and remember those pets gone on. There will be a little bit of everything here so come back next week and in a few weeks I hope to have several posts up for your reading enjoyment.

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I love My Pet

All Natural Bully Sticks - The Best Chews on Earth!

Sophia Loren: The Dog That Rescued Me

Stray Hearts Animal Shelter Event

My Dearest Rosie-Kate

Grief

Welcome!!

Welcome to I love my pet!

Pet Care, Clothes, Reviews and more!!

Authors and their pets

Author

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